A journey back to you with Wellness in the Wilderness

A spiritual and aesthetic discipline, yoga today has become part of many people’s daily lives in an effort to combat the stresses of life and bring peace and balance to oneself.

Here inviting you to rediscover yourself and bring you to a stand still to simply breathe and be at one with yourself is Soul Studio’s Shirley-Ann Brown.

Shirley-Ann, who has been living in Ballito for 26 years now, got into yoga some 15 years ago and says that she has never looked back once.

“Yoga really is for everyone and it is quite disheartening to see people be put off by what I call ‘Instagram Yoga’. Yoga isn’t what you see on social media,” explained the youthful-looking 52 year old instructor who previously used to chase any experience which would aid her in staying fit.

Not only is yoga described as a journey of the body, mind and spirit but, it is one which will see your life expectancy greatly increased through the promotion of mere movement, creating space between joints and assisting with circulation.

And it is a fact, with a recent finding by the World Health Organisation (WHO) concluding that sitting has become ‘the new smoking’.

According to the WHO the average person spends a staggering nine hours every day sitting down.

These prolonged periods of inactivity increase our risk of obesity and a staggering list of other conditions.

Shirley-Ann says that the yoga they practice is simple and known as ‘Hatha’ yoga.

“This form aids you to simply slow down, stop doing and in essence allows you to ‘be’. Yoga is about focusing on yourself,” said Shirley-Ann, who dumped cycling and running for the practice.

Years ago, Shirley-Ann with a group of volunteers ran a soup kitchen at the All Souls Anglican Church in Salt Rock where she would later meet The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund’s secretary, Rose Stephenson.

Although this was before the Orphan Fund’s establishment, the duo are said to have stayed in touch and now Shirley-Ann often assists with The Fund.

One of the latest events you can catch Shirley-Ann at is The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund’s Wellness in the Wilderness in partnership with Virgin Active Ballito at the Rain Farm Game Lodge.

So bring your tights, yoga mat and definitely don’t forget your camera and walking shoes – a fun-filled walk through the game reserve will start straight after a session of yoga with Shirley-Ann.

Tickets are a mere R100pp and all are invited to enjoy the day on Saturday, February 29. In support of The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund, the Wellness in the Wilderness event is set to start at 7am.

For bookings/information, contact Orphan Fund coordinator, Jane Armstrong at 032 946 0276.

Download The North Coast Courier mobile app, now available free from the Apple iStore and on Google Play, for IOS and Android phones.